Chapter 50 A Dying Pack
Leela reached out, her fingers squeezing Able’s forearm with a gentle strength that seemed to ground the trembling Alpha. "You look like you’ve walked half the continent on nothing but sheer willpower, Able. Sit. Please." She gestured toward the heavy, rustic wooden table that anchored the kitchen. "Ginny, let’s get them some of those muffins—the ones with the extra berries—and some real, hearty food. They’re running on empty."
As the Whisper-Wind wolves slumped into the chairs with audible sighs of weary gratitude, the aroma of bacon and fresh bread beginning to fill the air, Leela caught Fennigan’s gaze. She didn't say a word, just tilted her head toward the sunroom—a glass-walled sanctuary that looked out over the sprawling Blackwood valley.
He followed her, his stride heavy, his brow furrowed with a volatile mix of alpha concern and paternal stubbornness. The moment the glass door clicked shut, muffling the clatter of plates and Able’s low, gravelly voice, Fennigan turned to her, his shadow looming large in the bright morning light.
"Leela, no," he said, the words sharp and final before she could even draw breath. "I know that look. I’ve known it since we were finding each other in dreams as kids. You aren't going. You aren't stepping foot off this mountain."
"I know I’m not, Fen," she said softly, reaching out to take his large, calloused hands. She guided them back to the high, tight curve of her stomach, forcing him to feel the life they had created together. The twins were unnervingly quiet now, as if sensing the gravity of the conversation. "But Fenn, think about our bond. Really think about it. We’ve been tethered since we were children, tied together by a thread of silver and fire long before we even had names for what we were. So many miles and a world of silence didn't stop us from finding each other in the Fog."
She looked up at him, her eyes swirling with a sudden, desperate spark of sapphire and emerald hope. "Your wolf is a part of me, Fennigan, and my spark is a part of you. You are my anchor, but you are also my extension. If you go to Whisper-Wind in my stead, you can be my vessel. I can’t walk that dying land, but you can. Your hands can touch the soil I need to reach."
She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a fierce whisper. "If we focus on the bond—if we truly open the channel between us—I can funnel the earth’s energy through you. You’ll be the conduit. I can heal their soil from right here, seated in our own home, safe and protected."
Fennigan shook his head, his grip on her hands tightening until it was almost painful. "It’s too much of a strain, Leela. You’re already supporting two growing lives; your magic is already working overtime just to keep your blood pressure stable. To reach out that far, across state lines and mountain ranges, while you’re this close to labor? It’s reckless. If something goes wrong—if the drain is too fast—I won't be here to catch you. I’ll be days away."
"You will be there," she insisted, her gaze locking onto his with the intensity of a Luna who had already made up her mind. "You'll be the bridge. If I feel your heartbeat through the bond, I won't be alone. And Able’s people are dying, Fenn. Look at him. He’s the Alpha of a ghost pack. We were given this gift, this connection, for a reason. We didn't survive the magic spikes and the Council’s greed just to watch our neighbors starve because we were too afraid to try."
Fennigan looked from her determined, beautiful face down to the heavy weight of his heirs kicking beneath his palms. He was a man being torn in two: the Alpha who felt the cry of a dying pack, and the husband whose every instinct screamed at him to never leave his mate’s side during the "Sacred Weeks."
The silence in the sunroom stretched, heavy and thick with the scent of pine. Finally, Fennigan’s shoulders dropped. He leaned forward, his forehead dropping to rest against hers, his eyes closing as he breathed her in.
"This will require a level of focus we've never even dreamed of," he murmured, his voice a low, protective rumble. "A total synchronization. If I feel you slipping for even a second, if the stone in your chest starts to muddy, or if the twins show the slightest sign of stress... I’m breaking the connection. I’ll shift and I’ll run until my paws bleed to get back to you. Do you hear me, Sparky? I will not lose you to a harvest."
"If anything happens," Fennigan said. "Dad and Jax can go on and just bring the pack back here. I don't care about their land if it means you and my pups."
"Maybe we should do that anyway we have the room. We have the supplies."
"They want to try to save their packland the least we can do is try"
"I will be back here in a heart beat if you of the twins need me."
Leela let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, her heart skipping a beat against his chest. "I hear you, Alpha. Now go tell Able he’s not going home empty-handed."